Finding a New Generation to the Antibiotic Resistance
Abstract
In today’s society, antibiotic resistance is on the rise, leaving our bodies vulnerable to bacterial infections. New antibiotics are now in demand calling on us college students to do some research to help fight the problem. At Penn State Schuylkill, we are partnering up with Tiny Earth Program and Small World Initiative to help find the new generation of antibiotics. In this research, we are taking a sample of soil from the trees on campus, diluting and plating them with aseptic technique. In this process, we hope to isolate new antibiotic bacteria. To identify these unknown species we are using gram staining and other biochemical tests to try and narrow down the results. Aside from the pick and patch method, one test we use is called the oxidase test. This test lets us know if the bacteria that we chose produces cytochrome c oxidase which is an enzyme of the bacterial electron transport chain. By using a dry slide, water, and a sample of your bacteria you can determine if your bacteria are positive or negative. Positive oxidase will be a bright blue, while oxidase negative will be clear. The test will take 30 seconds before the results are shown.
Poster
Presentation
Courtney’s Presentation of Her Project
Small Worlds Tiny Earth At Schuylkill project
Mini Bio
Hi! My name is Courtney and I am a sophomore at Penn State Schuylkill. In Fall 2020, I will be a freshman at the Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing. I am super excited to take part in the Small World/ Tiny Earth project because it gives us the nursing students an opportunity to help the health care field in more than one way.